2016 Global Chief Audit Executive Survey

In this report you will find:

Current views and future expectations: Heads of Internal Audit provide their views on their groups’ capabilities, impact, influence, and stakeholder expectations—currently and over the next three to five years.

Gaps to close and challenges to address: Areas in which Internal Audit groups need to upgrade skills and tools to meet stakeholders’ expectations include IT, data analytics, model risk, innovation, and fraud prevention and detection.

Specific plans and actions: To enhance their performance, value, impact, and influence, Internal Audit groups will expand advisory services, improve analytics skills and tools, evaluate strategic planning and risk management, and use visualization tools in reporting.

Key survey findings:

• 1,203 respondents, 29 countries, eight industry sectors, across a range of company sizes, Internal Audit budgets, and Internal Audit hours
• Almost all heads of Internal Audit expect their organizations and their functions to change substantially in the next few years.
• Internal Audit currently lacks the impact and influence that it wants and needs within the organization.
• Key gaps in certain skills, including analytics, IT, and communications must be addressed in order to increase impact and influence.
• Stakeholders’ expect more forward-looking reports as well as insights regarding risks, strategic planning, IT, and business performance.
• Almost all Internal Audit budgets will remain flat or increase slightly, which may not be enough to fund needed enhancements to the function.

To address these challenges, Internal Audit should consider embedding analytics fully into the internal audit lifecycle, streamlining reports, acquiring analytics capabilities, and leveraging alternative resourcing strategies.